2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT,
“You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.”

2 Corinthians 9:8 LEB,
“And God is able to cause all grace to abound to you, so that in everything at all times, because you have enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work.”

“The more you gain financially, the more you’re a threat to the devil.”
(Kenneth Copland. Twitter, Aug 2022)

“This shipwrecks people’s faith. It’s a mockery of what it means to ­­follow Jesus. Jesus was not rich, nor His disciples; and yet, nobody was a bigger threat to the devil and Him.”
(Johnny Billy)

Part of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus is the aspect of Jesus taking on (being imputed) our poverty and in exchanging crediting His elect with His wealth. Paul’s statements above, are in context of money, and giving this money to fund the gospel ministry and aid. Paul says the foundation of this, is not the Corinthians working hard for their own money, but just like with sin and righteousness, Jesus worked hard by taking on their poverty, and in exchange freely credited wealth to the Corinthians. Paul argues part of the reason Jesus deposited such financial excess to His elect, (not the only reason), is for the purpose of giving this excess to fund the church and gospel ministry.

Peter said it was not good for him and the apostles to focus on serving tables, but rather on the ministry of the word and prayer. The reason is because the ministry of the word is the most powerful ministry. The bible always shows this to be the case; indeed it is God’s gospel (the word) that is powerful to save. Peter’s short sermon in Acts 2 brought in 3 thousand souls out of the kingdom of darkness and conveyed them into Kingdom of God’s unmerited favor. The point is this, severing tables is a good thing (and those who do this will not lose their reward), but a focus on a ministry of the word is always the most important. Therefore, how obvious it is to see that a ministry that lacks money and thus, must divert time away from a ministry of the word, to other do things, is a ministry that is being hindered. A ministry that is fully funded and is able to and does focus on the ministry of the word with power, will be a very fruitful ministry.

It is not a secret how poorly the church overall gives tithes. Many pastors end up begging for financial help. God sees their pain. However much that Satan rejoices in a defunded police, that allows the innocent to be unprotected, Satan much more rejoices in a defunded church, so that the preaching of the Word is hindered. The funding of the church is 100 times more on the hearts of Christians than the funding of any other organization.

“Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty” (James 5:4).

The money that you withhold from preachers who proclaim the word of God to you, who teach you sound doctrine, who defend you against assaults and deceptions, and who pray for you, so that your faith would not fail, now testifies against you before the Lord. It will stand as a witness against you in the day of judgment, as evidence of your injustice and cruelty. God will hold you responsible for every lack that they endure. He will charge to your account every occasion that their wives worry about the future. He will punish you for every night that their children go to sleep hungry. And what about those who have to do without the ministry of preachers who lack the resources to reach them? Surely their blood is on your hands.”
Vincent Cheung. “Preachers and Their Wages.”

Those who oppose Christians seeking, teaching and asking Jesus to give them financial prosperity, are those who have sided with Satan, and are enemies of the gospel and blood of Jesus Christ. Logically, Prosperity is no less the gospel, than the forgiveness of sins and healing. Because financial abundance is produced by the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is received in the same way forgiveness and healing is, by faith.

Jesus said,

Luke 16:9 NIV, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

He is instructing us to use earthly prosperity to gain spiritual friends (the chief of friends is God) so that when you died, God will welcome you to His eternal house. You can either set your mind on money and by your own effort attain it (the love of money), or in “faith” in the gospel receive an abundance of wealth by God’s power, so that you can use it fund the ministry of the Word, help those in need and use it even for your own enjoyment. Yes, you can use money on earth in such a way as to exchange it for eternal blessings.

Johnny Billy’s statement is an attack of the blood of Jesus Christ. It is also mis-leading and stupid. Jesus’ type of ministry is one that even many missionaries do not follow. How many go from town to town, nonstop preaching, healing the sick and casting out demons? Jesus said He had nowhere to lay His head, because of this specific way to do ministry, and not as a general statement about ministry itself. Also, Jesus and the disciples had enough money to fund them with all the people following them, and so much extra that Judas was able to steal from the money bag and it not be a problem. This might not be a definition of wealthy, but they were not poor either. And lastly, their specific ministry does not negate the doctrine that Paul taught saying Jesus exchange His wealth for our financial lack, so that we have His wealth to fund the gospel.

In addition to these mis-leading statements it is self-damning.  Johnny says that Jesus and the disciples, did not have prosperity, but they were still a bigger threat to the devil than anyone.

This is stupid for a few reasons. Jesus and the disciples were funded by money for their ministry. Many people and women followed, supported and provided for them. This is the very reason why Paul said Jesus died with our poverty and gave us His wealth, so that we can support the gospel.

Kenneth Copeland often teaches on healing and even casting out demons. Jesus and the disciples were supported and funded for their ministry. What did they focus on in their ministry that was such a threat to Satan?

“And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him,”
Acts 10:38.

Jesus was a treat to Satan being able to victimize people, by healing thousands of them.

Jesus said He was opposing the kingdom of Satan by casting out devils and healing. Jesus said God anointed Him to heal, heal, heal, resurrect the dead and preach the gospel. I wonder how many of those who criticize the prosperity gospel, heal the sick, heal the sick, heal the sick, resurrect the death and cast out demons? If they do not, then their ministries are not a gospel ministry and their ministries do not oppose a threat to the devil. So when they are opposing ministries that do focus on healing, casting out demons and encouraging faith to receive money through the gospel to finance a real gospel ministry, they are in fact mouth pieces for Satan. They have sided with the devil to oppose ministries that are the only true threat their god victimizing people.

Let us instead focus on being a true threat to Satan by healing the sick and teaching God’s chosen ones to have faith in the gospel of Jesus to receive financial help, and then to use this to fund gospel ministries that are pushing back the darkness and shining the light of heaven on the earth.

Indeed, you can tell the false gospel from the true gospel, by the sounds it produces. The false gospel will produce sounds of demons yelling and foaming out the mouths of people in joy, as people scream in pain, fear and poverty. However, the biblical gospel will produce sounds of demons screaming in fear, and the saints shouting for joy, in healing, forgiveness, blessings and prosperity!

“Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims.
And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed.
So there was great joy in that city.”
(Acts 8:7-8).

And when you hear this sound, then flood such gospel ministries with funding.

Let the demons scream and the saints shout for joy.